The Kokoda Track Memorial Walk commemorates Australian troops who fought through atrocious conditions and against vastly superior numbers in the Papua New Guinea campaign of July 1942 - January 1943. The Kokoda Walk begins at Kennedy Fountain on Mounts Bay Road with a climb of 150 steep steps (with a vertical rise of 62 metres). Plaques are placed along the steps to the State War Memorial where the track ends, just north of the cenotaph.

The fighting on The Kokoda Track was one of the vital elements of the Australian efforts in World War II. The Papua campaign, including The Kokoda Track, Milne Bay, Buna, Gona and Sanananda resulted in a total of 8,546 Australian and United States casualties.

More than 2,700 casualties were from malaria and at least 3,700 more from tropical diseases. More than 2,000 Australians and 600 Americans were killed. During the four months of fighting in the Owen Stanley Ranges, 607 soldiers were killed and 1,015 wounded from the Australian infantry.